Inner Demons
by quicksiluers
Summary: Robbie deals with the aftermath of the prison and gets a visitor he should have been expecting. (One-shot, takes place after 4x05)


_Author's note: Thank you all for the kind words on my previous one-shot for these two! It means a lot! So with this one, I mixed some things in from the All-New Ghost Rider comic which you should all check out cause it's amazing. And some speculation for next episode cause it looks amazing. Hope you enjoy!_

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Robbie slams his hand down on the steering wheel, his breathing ragged. The whispers were so loud, one after another, merging together in a repeating chant. He felt like his skull was about to split open, the pain behind his eyes becoming too much to bear.

Leaning his forehead against the wheel, he tries to control his breathing. Inhale slowly. Exhale slowly. Repeat.

The Rider seemed to have other ideas, the pounding in Robbie's head becoming worse. He had gotten better at controlling it, controlling his emotions when he needed to. If he hadn't let himself been taken over back at the prison, if his emotions didn't get the best of him, he wouldn't have failed.

Failing the team who he was reluctantly with, who may have started to trust him.

Failing his uncle who he let slip through his fingers because the whispers were too loud.

Failing Gabe that night…

"Robbie?"

Of course she would come to find him.

He cracks his eyes open and slowly tilts his head, glancing at Daisy. She was leaning against the passenger side door, a look of concern and confusion on her face. They hadn't spoken since getting back on Zephyr One, Robbie storming off before he had to hear from another person about how he screwed up. He didn't need to be told that twice.

The silence seems to be an invitation as Daisy opens the door and climbs in the passenger seat, her body turned towards him.

"I know you want to leave, but driving off a ship in the air may not be the best idea." She says with a teasing tone.

The whispers still pestered at the back of his mind, clawing at him. He grunts, leaning back into his driver's chair. A chitchat with Daisy wasn't really what he had in mind at the moment.

"Hey, are you alright?" her tone is concerned, "I thought you said you don't get hurt."

"I don't…" he replies, pinching the bridge of his nose, "but…sometimes I get headaches after…" he trails off, assuming she would figure out what he meant.

If she replied, Robbie didn't hear it. The whispers hadn't been this bad in so long, he thought he had this under control. The last time they were this bad, so loud and overpowering…He could see the flames, see Gabe's face in the distance covered in blood, calling for him and he couldn't move. It was too much, too much; he couldn't go down that rabbit hole…!

A light touch on his arm brought him back and he opens his eyes. When had he closed his eyes? He glances over to Daisy, whose face was all kinds of emotions he couldn't read. God he probably looked like a complete mess right now.

"Sorry…" he mumbles, "it's…been a bit since they've been this bad."

She nods, a spark of understanding in her eyes, "I had that same type of issue too when I became an Inhuman," she explains quietly, "I couldn't control my powers at all and I was breaking bones in my body…not the best experience."

A small laugh escapes him, "Powers that break your bones? Sounds like a lot of fun to deal with."

"Almost as fun as my head bursting into flames and 'making a deal with the devil', right?

A smile tugs at his lips, "Yeah, just as fun."

They drift off into silence, thankfully to Robbie. The whispers had started to die down but his head still felt like it had a jackhammer to it. All he wanted to do was climb into bed and try to escape for a bit, give him some time to clear his head before they would go after his uncle. If they even let him out. He felt trapped on this ship, all he wanted was to be on solid ground; he just wanted to see Gabe. Ask him how his day was, tease him about a crush he may have. Robbie exhales loudly, looking down at his clenched hands. He just wanted things to go back to how they were.

"You here to get on my ass about what happened too?" he asks, raising an eyebrow over at her.

She rolls her eyes at that, "No, I wouldn't do that. I know you already got an ear full from Coulson."

"That's an understatement."

"He does the whole 'disappointed dad' thing really well," her tone holds a bit of sarcasm, "No, I just…thought I'd come check up on you."

That wasn't what he expected to hear. But then, with Daisy, he never knew what to expect. They had started off rocky, the words she said to the Rider still lingering in Robbie's head. That she deserved to die, that he should kill her. And in that moment, within the Rider, Robbie could see that she didn't. She was in a lot of pain, from what he didn't know. So he let her go, figuring that would be the end of it. And then he goes to work and finds her there, a smug expression on her face and too much information on him for his liking.

The most notable thing about Daisy was that she picked up on small details quickly. She had caught him when he said he was "stuck" with the Rider, and then he trusted her enough with that information. She was more understanding then he would have guessed. In this unknown world he was in, the times he felt the most comfortable were when she was around, at least having someone understanding his situation.

A tired smile tugs on his lips, "That's nice of you…but I'm fine."

She laughs quietly, "Trust me, I've used that card earlier today…so I know something is actually bothering you."

Did he trust her enough to tell her about the whispers, how the Rider urged him to kill people. How it was harder to control when Robbie actually wanted certain people dead. This was all so new for him, telling someone about the demon that plagued him.

"Look Robbie," she says, "The man you killed in the prison…did you know him?"

He watches his hands clench and unclench on his thighs, the whispers slowly coming back. He saw the face of the man, the horror in his eyes, and then the heat of the flames all around him. This was it, a moment of trust he never thought he'd take.

He looks Daisy in the eye, not sure what he was looking for. Pity? Fear? What he found was concern but also understanding. She knew of his type of struggle because it was like her own in a way. And in that moment, he knew he could tell her.

"My brother and I…" he starts, gripping his hands together, "A few years ago…I finished fixing up Lucy after her engine started to act up. Gabe wanted to go for a ride, it was a boring night, and we hadn't hung out for a while. I had started to work at the car shop; it was taking a lot of my time up.

"So we went out, just riding around the neighborhood. It was nice, Gabe was really happy; it was good to see him that way. With what happened to our uncle…the house didn't feel the same," he pauses, shrugging his shoulders, "So I took him out for a ride. We were rolling around the neighborhood when I noticed this car racing up on us."

Robbie swallows, looking over the interior of the car. It flashes back to that night, the rips of the fabric from the bullets, the blood coming from him and his brother covering the seats. He tenses up, gripping his hand tighter, trying to focus on the present.

"Robbie…" Daisy's voice is light, her hand covering his own. They lock eyes for a long time, a silent understanding between them.

"It was guys from this local gang," he continues, letting her hand rest of his, "called the Fifth Street Locos. They chased us down a few blocks…and then I tried to race away from them. But they pulled up next to us and the next thing I know, I see one of them holding a guy and they start to shoot…

"It's all a blur after that…I remember…seeing Gabe's face, but I don't remember…I woke up at the hospital and Gabe he was…" his voice chokes up, trying to keep his emotions in check. He felt Daisy squeeze his hand, a small comfort. "The man in the cell, he was part of that gang. And I had tried…tried to walk away from him, but the whispers, they were so loud and then it…"

"Whispers?" she asks, "Does it talk to you?"

"It…it says things, but it just whispers…but they get loud and can be overwhelming."

Realization washes over her face and she nods slowly, "So when you were walking out with your uncle…did you not have that reaction when you saw that man earlier?"

"I did," he says, "but they weren't so loud…and your friend, Mackenzie, he stopped me before I went further."

As they sat there together, Robbie notices that the headache that had plagued him earlier was gone. The whispers were gone. He felt like he had taken a weight off his shoulders he didn't even know was there.

He could tell her mind was racing, her eyes darting from him to multiple different directions. Looking over her, Robbie notices the cut on her lip, the bruising on her face and down her neck. Something wells up inside him, an emotion he can't pinpoint. She had come to make sure he was ok when she was covered in bruises, when she was the one who looked to be hurting. He bites the inside of his mouth to keep from asking her what happened, knowing she would shut down.

"Thank you, for telling me," she whispers, "I know we just met and I'm sure this is all new but…if you do need help with anything, just tell me."

He can feel himself tense up slightly, his eyes widening. He tries to keep his expression as neutral as he can, his mind racing with what to say. This was not what he expected, this little alliance of theirs to grow into…whatever this had become. A friendship? A mutual understanding? He was so used to being out on his own, taking care of himself, of other people. And then this girl comes in, extending a hand out even when she has her own pain to go through.

He could see why the people on this team cared so much for her.

Nodding his head slowly, Robbie slowly pulls his hands away, "Thank you…I'll keep that in mind."

Her face is unreadable to him and internally he panics.

"I'm sorry by the way," he deflects, changing the subject, "You stood up for me to go down to the prison and I-"

"Robbie, you don't have to apologize for tha-"

"I do though," he argues, "Because I got distracted, my uncle is now stuck with some…some crazy ghost scientist."

"Well you're in luck with this team, they've dealt with weirder. We'll get him back."

"Weirder?" he asks, raising an eyebrow, "how does it get any weirder then that?"

The smile that spreads across Daisy's face is impish and she pats him on the shoulder, "You don't even know the half of it."


End file.
